Given that technology has become such a prevalent part of your life and our business, San Patricio Electric Cooperative has decided to take steps to ensure your payment information is more secure. To do this, the co-op will have to make a few changes to the way it accepts credit card payments.

In order to be compliant with security standards, SPEC employees will no longer be allowed to handle your credit card. In the near future, when you come into the office to make a payment you’ll find an electronic payment terminal at the cashier’s desk. Using this device, you’ll swipe your own card to make a payment, just as you do when you shop at a grocery or retail store.

Similarly, you will no longer be able to provide your credit card information to an SPEC employee over the phone. If you call into our office to make a payment, the cashier will transfer your call to our automated phone system. You will then be prompted to use the keypad on your phone to enter your account information and card number through this secure system. If you have more than one account, please make sure to enter each account number. This process ensures that no one can hear or record your credit card information.

Once your credit card number is entered into the system, it is encrypted so the sequence of numbers is unreadable. Should anyone try to access your payment information in our system, they would only see the last four digits. These four digits are shown for your benefit, so you have a way to acknowledge which card you’ve paid with, just as you’d see on a restaurant receipt or even a receipt from your bank.

You can access the payment feature on the automated phone system directly by choosing option 3 on the main menu.

Alternatively, if we have a credit card on file for you already, you may speak with the cashier and verify the last four digits on your card to make a payment.

The online payment system will not change. You can make secure payments with your credit card online, at any time, by signing up for SmartHub, the co-op’s account management and payment tool. Your credit card information is encrypted when it’s entered into SmartHub, so it’s also a secure place to save your card number for future payments.

You can sign up for SmartHub by visiting our website, www.sanpatricioelectric.org. Those who have signed up for the free service are automatically entered into a monthly drawing for a $100 bill credit.

If you have any questions, please contact us at 361-364-2220 or email pr@sanpatricioelectric.org.